Sam Rockwell is an American actor. He is known for his roles on stage and screen and has earned various accolades. After making his film debut in 1989, he established himself as a memorable character actor before gaining a reputation in Hollywood which led him to leading man roles.
Rockwell made his film debut in the slasher film Clownhouse (1989). He then earned acclaim for his roles in the British drama Lawn Dogs (1997), the prison drama The Green Mile (1999), the satirical space comedy Galaxy Quest (1999), the comedy Charlie's Angels (2000), the biographical spy film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), the black comedy crime film Matchstick Men (2003), the space comedy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), the revisionist western The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007), the political drama Frost/Nixon (2008), and the space drama Moon (2009). He continued to earn acclaim in the black comedy the drama Conviction (2010), Seven Psychopaths (2012), the coming of age comedy The Way, Way Back (2013), the black comedy Jojo Rabbit (2019), and the biographical drama Richard Jewell (2019).
For his role as a hot headed racist cop in the Martin McDonagh drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), he earned both the Academy Award and the BAFTA Award. He was Oscar-nominated for his role as George W. Bush in the political satire Vice (2018). He is also known for his role as Justin Hammer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Iron Man 2 (2010) and a doctor in the science-fiction western Cowboys & Aliens (2011). He has voiced roles in the animated films G-Force (2009), The Bad Guys (2022) as well its sequel (2025).
On television, he portrayed Bob Fosse in the FX on Hulu limited series Fosse/Verdon (2019) and a man struggling with his identity in the third season of The White Lotus (2025) both of which earned him Primetime Emmy Award nominations. On stage, he has starred as an explosive hustler in the Broadway revival of the David Mamet play American Buffalo (2022), earning him a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play nomination.
Acting credits Film
YearTitleRoleNotes 1989 Clownhouse Randy 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Head Thug 1991 Strictly Business Gary 1992 Jack and His Friends Louie In the Soup Pauli Light Sleeper Jealous Happy Hell Night Young Henry Collins 1994Somebody to Love Polish Guy The Search for One-eye Jimmy Jimmy "One-eye Jimmy" Hoyt 1995 Drunks Tony Glory Daze Rob Mercy Matty 1996 Bad Liver and a Broken Heart Broken Heart Short filmBasquiat Thug Box of Moonlight The Kid a.k.a. Bucky 1997 Arresting Gena Sonny Lawn Dogs Trent Burns 1998 The Call Back Alan / Christopher Walken Jerry and Tom Jerry Louis & Frank Sam Safe Men Sam Celebrity Brandon Darrow's Entourage 1999 A Midsummer Night's Dream Francis Flute The Green Mile William "Wild Bill" Wharton Galaxy Quest Guy Fleegman 2000 Charlie's Angels Eric Knox 2001 D.C. Smalls Karaoke Singer Short film Pretzel Sam Short film BigLove Nate Short film Made Hotel Clerk Uncredited Heist Jimmy Silk 2002 13 Moons Rick Running Time The Hunted Short film Welcome to Collinwood Pero "Pepe" Mahalovic Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Chuck Barris Stella Shorts 1998–2002 Pizza Guy Direct-to-video; Short: "Bored"2003 Matchstick Men Frank Mercer 2004 Piccadilly Jim Jim Crocker / Piccadilly Jim 2005 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox The F Word Jeremy Robin's Big Date The Bat-Man Short film2007 Joshua Brad Cairn Snow Angels Glenn Marchand The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford Charley Ford 2008 Woman in Burka Sam Short film Choke Victor Mancini Frost/Nixon James Reston Jr. 2009 The Winning Season Bill Greaves Moon Sam Bell G-Force Darwin Voice A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. Gentlemen Broncos Bronco / Brutus Everybody's Fine Robert Goode2010 Iron Man 2 Justin Hammer F—K Sam Short film Conviction Kenneth Waters 2011 Cowboys & Aliens Doc The Sitter Karl Fairhurst 2012 Seven Psychopaths Billy Bickle 2013 The Way, Way Back Owen A Single Shot John Moon Trust Me Aldo Stankas A Case of You Gary 2014 Better Living Through Chemistry Douglas Varney All Hail the King Justin Hammer Short film Laggies Craig Hunter Loitering with Intent Wayne 2015 Digging for Fire Ray Don Verdean Don Verdean Poltergeist Eric Bowen Mr. Right Francis Munch / Mr. Right2017 Axis Himself Voice The Dark of Night Officer Witt Short film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Officer Jason Dixon Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Woman Walks Ahead Colonel Silas Grove 2018 Blaze Oilman #1 Mute Sam Bell Uncredited cameo Blue Iguana Eddie Vice George W. Bush 2019 The Best of Enemies C. P. Ellis Jojo Rabbit Captain Klenzendorf Richard Jewell Watson Bryant 2020 Trolls World Tour Hickory Voice The One and Only Ivan Ivan Voice2022 The Bad Guys Mr. Wolf Voice See How They Run Inspector Stoppard 2024 Argylle Aidan Wilde IF Guardian Dog Voice2025 The Bad Guys 2 Mr. Wolf Voice Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die Man from the future 2026 Wild Horse Nine Lee Raymond Gunn Voice; post-production2027 The Semant (Voice)Voice appearance TBA HimselfPost-production Frank Armstrong Drunky Voice; in production TBA Filming
Television YearTitleRoleNotes 1988 The Equalizer Slick Episode: "The Child Broker"1989 Dream Street Joey Episode: "Girl's Talk"1990 ABC Afterschool Special Jason Episode: "Over the Limit"1992 Law & Order Randy Borland Episode: "Intolerance"1993 Law & Order Officer Weddeker Episode: "Manhood"1993 Lifestories: Families in Crisis Kevin Tunell Episode: "Dead Drunk: The Kevin Tunell Story"1995 NYPD Blue Billy Episode: "Torah! Torah! Torah!"1997 Subway Stories Man Eating Television film Prince Street Donny Hanson 6 episodes2005 Stella Gary Meadows Episode: "Office Party"2011 Gettysburg Narrator Voice; Documentary2012 Napoleon Dynamite Filson Voice; Episode: "FFA"2015 Drunk History Bugsy Siegel Episode: "Las Vegas"2015–2021 F Is for Family Vic Reynolds Voice; 44 episodes2016 Inside Amy Schumer Sam Episode: "Fame"2018 Saturday Night Live Himself (host) Episode: "Sam Rockwell/Halsey"2019 Fosse/Verdon Bob Fosse 8 episodes, also executive producer2020Home Movie: The Princess Bride Westley Episode: "Chapter Five: Life Is Pain" 2022 The Last Movie Stars Stuart Rosenberg Voice; 6 episode docuseries 2023 What If...? Justin Hammer Voice; Episode: "What If... Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?" 2025 The White Lotus Frank 4 episodes
Theatre
YearTitleRolePlaywrightVenue 1998–1999 Goose-Pimples Vernon Mike Leigh Theatre Row, Off-Broadway 2000 The Hot l Baltimore Bill Lewis Lanford Wilson Williamstown Theatre Festival 2001 Zoo Story Jerry Edward Albee The Dumb Waiter Gus Harold Pinter 2005 The Last Days of Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot Stephen Adly Guirgis The Public Theater, Off-Broadway 2010 A Behanding in Spokane Mervyn Martin McDonagh Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, Broadway 2011 A Streetcar Named Desire Stanley Kowalski Tennessee WilliamsWilliamstown Theatre Festival 2014Fool for LoveEddieSam Shepard 2015 Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Broadway 2022 American Buffalo Teach David Mamet Circle in the Square Theatre, Broadway 2026 A View from the Bridge Eddie Carbone Arthur Miller Ellen Stewart Theatre, Off-Broadway
Music videos
YearTitleArtist(s) Role 2015 "Down to Earth" Flight Facilities Himself 2024 "Electric Energy" Ariana DeBose, Boy George and Nile Rodgers Himself
Video games YearTitleRoleNotes 2009 G-Force Darwin Voice2016 Dishonored 2 Mortimer Ramsey Voice
See also List of awards and nominations received by Sam Rockwell
References